Student Loans

Why is the government grabbing education loans, bypassing the banks and causing jobs to be lost? Didn't they say they wanted to create jobs?

If it is worth jeopardizing jobs, putting education loans in the hands of government must be really important. Why? What will be the results of this move?

First, of course, students will have one source and one source only for school funds. No second choice, no shopping around - one place only. A number of questions come to mind. Are your parents in good standing with the government? Are you in a proper demographic group? Will you be required to take certain political courses because you're using government loans? Does the government think the course you've plotted for your life is in their best interests? Will they care about your best interests? Do they deem you deserving of college or will you be routed to a different life plan, like it or not?

How about payback time? More questions. At payback time will your political stance be disregarded? Will some get a better deal than others depending upon party affiliation? Will they let you to pay it off and get out from under the weight of government or will they be a monkey on your back forever? Will they control your life since they invested in it, like they moved in to control wages and policies of businesses in which they invested?

Are they planning to take over individuals as well as banks and industry?

OofDah!

Big Government

I'm reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, a book I would recommend, by the way. I'd like to share a short excerpt from early in the book:

While it was easy to comfort yourself that you would never steal or rape or murder, no one could ever be sure they weren't guilty of anti-Soviet agitation, counterrevolutionary activity, and espionage, since no one, including Leo, could ever be sure exactly what these crimes were.

Importantly, Leo is not just a common guy but is an enforcer, and even he couldn't be sure of guilt because the crimes were only loosely defined, likely by design. So how could he enforce the law? Easy, just arrest or kill the suspect on the grounds that if you were a suspect you were guilty. Unfortunately, becoming a suspect was as simple as a cranky neighbor casting aspersions and even minor officials were not immune to accusations.

Since big government and government control are hotly debated issues in today's political clime, the foregoing excerpt is relevant to us. The scenario described in Child 44 is a result of out-of-control big government. This is what people fear in our government.

If government controls all, it becomes out-of-control. When they are in control, they may expect you to do things you don't wish to do. You may live in fear of your neighbor as well as your government.

"Oh," you say, "I trust our goverment to take away my concerns and make my decisions for me. They'll make everything even and fair - level the playing field. I want to grant them control."

Ah, so perhaps you trust the present administration. Fine. This administration is not forever. Who or what comes next? They will inherit control over you. You have party affiliations? Maybe the next administration will decide to interpret the control laws in a different way. Maybe they'll decide that former party affiliations are punishable by death. Who's to question it? After all, you've granted the government total control over you. And as Lord Acton, historian and moralist, said in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Make government a servant of the people, or people will be slaves of the government.

OofDah!